How Hiring the Unemployed Can Be Good for Business

Unemployed job candidates "aren’t necessarily damaged goods," and should not be overlooked. In fact, hiring them could be a great benefit to your company.

28 January, 2014

If an unemployed worker is any good, the conventional thinking goes, why are they still unemployed?

Jody Greenstone Miller, co-founder and CEO of Business Talent Group, however, argues that unemployed job candidates "aren’t necessarily damaged goods," and should not be overlooked. In fact, hiring them could be a great benefit to your company.

Miller argues that

People returning to the workforce can bring energy, fresh perspectives and loyalty.Unemployed people are "ready and enthusiastic about getting back to work."

The best people may not be on your list."Finding the best talent means expanding your talent pool, actively seeking unemployed executives as well as independent consultants, who are too often dismissed as unemployed people with fancy titles."

Independent professionals are often the most desirable hires. "Independent professionals enjoy choosing their projects and colleagues, so they can be hard to recruit."